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Topic: Literature

The last decade or so has seen a huge increase in the amount of Young Adult literature being published in Arabic. Slowly but surely, writes Marcia Lynx Qualey, well-crafted books aimed at teens are making their way into bookshops, libraries and schoolsMore

What are Syrian authors writing about their country? How do they write? Who among them can find the strength to capture the horrors of war in words? Stefan Buchen has been reading a monologue written by one young writer. Literature that emerges from the rubble and ruins of war, he says, may well strike a familiar chord – it just needs to be translatedMore

Finding somewhere to live, pursuing asylum claims and other bureaucratic procedures distract refugee writers from their creative vocation and their self-esteem suffers. In the eyes of everyone else, they are mere refugees, the mastery of their own language a relic from an ever-receding past. How can authors adapt to their new countries? Must they remain prisoners to writing about yearning and nostalgia? By Rama JarmakaniMore

Abbas Maroufi, born in Tehran in 1957, was one of Iran's most respected writers when he was sentenced to prison and a flogging for 'offending the fundamental principles of Islam'. It was only thanks to the intervention of the German PEN Center and the intercession of Gunter Grass that he was able to leave Iran in 1996. He has lived in Germany ever since. Interview by Volker KaminskiMore

Eight thirty in the morning in Hargeisa and a crowd has formed outside the function hall of the Guled Hotel. Visitors are queuing at the security check and waiting to get in. It′s book fair time in the capital of Somaliland. By Michaela Maria MullerMore

Germany was this year′s guest of honour at the Istanbul International Book Fair. This could not have happened at a better time – despite or perhaps because of the political dissonance. By Karen KrugerMore

″Limbo Beirut″ is Hilal Chouman′s third novel, but his first to cross over into English. Beautifully translated by Anna Ziajka Stanton, this illustrated novel is a five-part portrait of interconnected lives, written in markedly different styles. Marcia Lynx Qualey read the bookMore

Her book "Al-Bab al-Maftooh" (The Open Door), published in 1960, made Latifa al-Zayyat famous overnight. Her reputation as a feminist writer was sealed by the film version of the novel, starring the legendary actress Faten Hamama (at the time, the wife of Omar Sharif). By Sherif Abdel SamadMore

Mathias Enard has written a magnificent novel about Europe’s fascination with the Orient. Awarded France’s prestigious Prix Goncourt, the multi-layered and astounding book is the story of a great unfulfilled love, but above all a plea for cultural dialogue. Ulrich von Schwerin read the bookMore

Acclaimed author Etgar Keret is often viewed as a traitor due to his outspoken criticism of the Israeli government. Etgar spoke to Sabine Peschel about why he finds Berlin so tolerant and why he'd propose a three-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflictMore

The Arab revolutions – and the Syrian revolution in particular – changed authors conception of themselves. For some, the change was so great that they find they can no longer write. This is the experience of Dima Wannous, one of Syria′s outstanding young authorsMore

Survival in Tehran is a matter of lying and bending the rules. In the Iranian theocracy, real life is conducted in secret. Nadja Schluter reports on what else we can learn from the wonderful book on Iran, "City of Lies"More

All their lives, the early Romantics and classical philologists Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel (1772-1829) and August Wilhelm Schlegel (1767-1845) saw the Orient as a source of literary and cultural enrichment for Europe. By Melanie Christina MohrMore

Most Recent Photo Essay

Countless cultural assets have been destroyed by the Syrian Civil War. The Syrian Heritage Archive Project in Berlin contributes to preserving their memory with an exhibition showing what has been lost — and what remains. By Christina Kufner